can inspire Māori and Pasifika kids
Despite his Māori heritage, animation entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor was 68 before the lightbulb moment when he heard of the Polynesian migration across the Pacific and to Aotearoa thousands of years ago.
Two and a half years later, Taylor has launched an online education programme which he hopes will inspire children, especially Māori and Pasifika, to believe they can pursue science and technology.
Dunedin-based Taylor, said learning of the huge sea voyages in double-hulled waka, changed his view of his own success, and taught him innovation was a Polynesian trait that needed awakening in the young.
The stories of the Polynesian voyagers and their use of celestial navigation are linked in maatauranga.co.nz through to the innovation in the America’s Cup and Team New Zealand’s foiling raceboat Te Rehutai.
Link to video and article: America's Cup: How great Polynesian voyagers can inspire Māori and Pasifika kids | Stuff.co.nz
